IS THIS A JOKE?
Sawyer switched the phone to his left ear and paced to the opposite end of the large country kitchen. Staring out the window over the sink into the blackness of the backyard hed grown up in, he jerked the knot loose on his tie and unhooked the top two buttons of his soggy white shirt.
Finally, he had something useful to do to take his mind off the funeral and the friends and family whod come to his mothers house afterward. But hed trade almost anything for a different assignment.
I wish. All three of them have vanished. Including our pal Longbow. Friend and fellow cop Detective Seth Cartwright, the commissioners son, hadnt shown up for the potluck dinner after leaving the cemetery. Now Sawyer understood why. A nightmare from the organized-crime investigation theyd worked together last year had reawakened.
Hes no friend of mine.
Mine, either. I know what that bastard can do. Like try to murder Seths wife.
Sawyer knew Ace Longbow as a hulking, temperamental enforcer for the mob. In exchange for testifying against his former boss, hed been given the opportunity to spend the rest of his life rotting away in prison, instead of facing a lethal injection himself. But something had gone very, very wrong at a courthouse in Jefferson City, Missouri, that afternoon. Youre sure he didnt die in the crash?
They should be so lucky.
Seth continued. Were listing all three as escaped prisoners until weve got bodies to confirm their deaths.
Sawyer scrubbed at the evening beard peppering his jaw. What happened?
The Department Of Corrections in Jefferson City had him out to testify in the Wolfe case, along with two other prisoners who were involved in different federal investigations. From what I understand, there were weapons planted in the courtroom. Artillery fire from a van outside knocked out one of the walls.
Artillery fire? Sounds like an invasion. Or terrorists.
Somebody had some money and connections behind the escape. One prison escort is dead and another critical. At least three other personnel from the courthouse are hospitalized in serious condition. I dont know how many others suffered minor injuries. They kidnapped the stenographer, but dumped her before their getaway car went into the river. The feds are already on-site, along with the DOC and local authorities. Theyre still cleaning up the mess. State police claim at least one of the prisoners was hit before they rammed the car and knocked it off the bridge. Theyre dredging the river where the car went in, but have come up with nothing.
Three escapees and at least one accomplice if those guns were planted, but no bodies have been found? Sawyer didnt know whether to curse or laugh.
Not one. No John Doe gunshot victims reported at any local hospitals. No one washed up on the banks. The Missouri has a deep channel and strong currents in that part of the state, so they could be miles downstream by now. Longbow and the others could be anywhere in Missouri, anywhere in the country by now. Hell, if he survived, he could be back here in K.C.
Sawyers muscles jumped with the desire to join in the manhunt. But pacing off the length of the kitchen seemed to be his only option right now. And there are no leads?
Seths no was colorful and emphatic. Its no secret that Longbows former boss, Theodore Wolfe, took out a hit on Longbowto shut his mouth and keep Ace from testifying against him. As easy as it is to off a guy in lockup, why go to all this trouble? Besides, we shut Wolfe downturned over all his men to Interpol or local authorities. If he still has the connections to pull off something this big, then hed have left the body to prove it.
Seth had survived turning on the Wolfes himself. Saywers father had survived bringing the Wolfe family to justice. Was John Kincaids murder related to Longbows escape from prison?
I thought you should know, Seth went on, explainingthe real purpose behind this call on this day. You were there at the casino to provide backup for me while I was undercover with the Wolfe family, and I know you developed some kind ofattachment to Longbows ex-wife.
The pacing stopped.
Melissa Teague. Single mom and cocktail waitress. Sawyer had been playing bartender and bouncer back then and had worked with Melissa. An image of her small, perfectly proportioned figure filling out that skimpy saloon-girl costume the waitresses had worn popped into his mind, as vivid and distracting as the real woman had been. He remembered Melissa as a pretty little slip of a thingall blue eyes and golden hair. And bruises. Sprained wrists.
And fear.
We all wanted to take care of her. But they had all failed her.
The sandwich Sawyer had wolfed down to appease his mother churned in his stomach at the memory of seeing Melissa in a hospital bed, looking small and pale as she lay in a coma, fighting for her life. The last time hed seen her awake, shed rolled over in the hospital bed and turned her back on him. Even though hed told her hed been working undercover, that he was a cop and the bartender shed known as Tom Sawyer was really Thomas Sawyer Kincaid, she still associated him with the Wolfe crime family and the place where Ace Longbow had tried to kill her.
Or maybe an oversize, overbuilt truck of a man lurkingin her doorway was too much of a reminder of her abusive ex.
Sawyer hissed a frustrated breath through tightly clenched teeth. He had no special claim on Melissa. Shed made it clear that, despite sharing a few cups of coffee before work, or walking her to her car after closing, she wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe not with any man. Considering her background, he couldnt blame her. Why call me?
So far, weve been able to keep the escapeesnames out of the press and the details sketchy. Weve got every man on this. As soon as we got the wire from Jeff City, we dispatched a car to Melissas house to keep an eye on things. Seths long pause bespoke the depth of the favor he was asking of Sawyer. I know the timing sucks. But I figured shed rather hear the news from a familiar face than a stranger.
Ah, hell. He finally had it fixed in his brain that hed never see Melissa again. That was the only way hed been able to get past the guilt and the wanting.
Can you handle it tonight? If not, Ill take a break and go over there myself. She should know that her ex-husband escaped, and that hes either dead or missing.
Sawyer had been a cop for ten years. Hed been John Kincaids son long before that. Doing the hard thingdoing the right thingsimply because it had to be done wasnt something hed backed down from before. He wouldnt skip out on his duty now. No matter how raw he was already feeling inside. No. You know the players better than any of us. You need to be there at the precinct office to keep track of information as it comes in. Ill go.
Thanks, Sawyer. Seth apologized for his and his wifes early departure after the funeral. Im sorry Bec and I didnt make it to the reception. You know how much John meant to both of us. But when the call came in
Forget it. Im glad youre there to handle it.
I had a lot of respect for your dad.
We all did. The heartfelt words should have calmed him, centered him. But for a man who was used to doing rather than talking, the lengthy conversation made him antsy to get this errand over with. You go back to work. Ill get over to Melissas.